Commonly, homeowners struggle to find convenient storage space for small items kept within the home. Desks, bureaus, end tables, and the like can provide storage space, but most homeowners can use more. This is particularly true for homeowners that spend a great deal of time in a particular room of their home, such as the living room or den in which they gather to talk, listen to music, or watch television; most would like a convenient storage receptacle that services these rooms without taking up additional floor space.
Storage receptacles positioned beneath seats are known for seating units outside the living room. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,679,891 to Rubin, which discloses a sewing machine stored beneath a chair; U.S. Pat. No. 3,026,141 to Welles, which discloses a drawer that fits beneath an automobile seat; U.S. Pat. No. 2,907,378 to Barecki, which discloses an automobile seat which pivots to allow the front portion of the seat surface to rise and thereby provide access to a seating unit beneath. However, none of these configurations would be suitable for use with a sofa, love seat, easy chair, or the like, as each has both performance and aesthetic shortcomings.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a seating unit having an associated storage receptacle that is easily accessed.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a seating unit with an associated storage receptacle that can be integrated into virtually any seating unit style without sacrificing aesthetic appeal.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a mechanism suitable for use with the aforementioned seating units.